News and Activities

The Climate-Land-Energy-Water (CLEWs) framework is a modelling tool for quantitative analysis of the Nexus between the biophysical systems of climate, land (including agriculture), energy and water.

The GWP 2021 Network Meeting of Partners took place online on 1 & 2 December under the Theme “Leading Change and Innovation through our Partners”. GWP-Med was actively involved, presenting examples of success stories from its work around the Mediterranean in several Breakout Sessions.

A historical reservoir of 800,000 litres was restored for rainwater harvesting to service the sustainable development vision of Birgu City, which becomes Malta’s first Water Saving City, marking 10 years of collaboration between GWP-Med, The Coca-Cola Foundation, Malta’s Ministry for Energy, Enterprise and Sustainable Development, the Energy and Water Agency and local stakeholders. Over 10 years, non-conventional water resources applications under the Alter Aqua programme have saved more than 20 million litres of water annually, benefiting 20% of Malta’s population.

GWP-Med is leading the “Pathways to Impact” Work Package in the Horizon 2020 REXUS project, coordinating communication and dissemination activities. The 1st plenary meeting, which took place on 21 and 27 October 2021, brought together more than 60 participants from over 20 institutions, sharing advances on various pieces of the REXUS ‘jigsaw puzzle’ which is coming together to create new blueprint for applying the Water-Energy-Food-Climate Nexus.

The "WATER IS IN OUR HANDS" initiative, by FINISH and GWP-Med, aims to raise awareness on water saving, by showcasing practical ways to use water more efficiently.

An online Workshop on “Gender Equality (GE) for Sustainable Development in Nexus sectors in Drin Riparians” took place on 12 October 2021 with the participation of around 55 representatives from different gender related institutions and nexus related sectors, gender focal points, civil society, academia, women empowerment activists and experts from Albania, Kosovo* and North Macedonia. Its overall purpose was to bring these actors together to discuss challenges and opportunities for promoting gender equality as a driver for sustainable development in Drin Riparians.

GWP-Med is leading the communication and dissemination component in this new H2020 project which aims to close the gap between science and policy in natural resources management. The REXUS project is bringing the Water-Energy-Food Nexus concept to an operational level as a tool for analysis, planning and decision-making, through an innovative integrated approach applied in 5 pilot sites across Europe and Latin America.

MoP9 side event examines the role of women in water diplomacy.

The 9th session of the meeting of the Parties to the UN Water Convention was organized from 29 September to 1 October 2021. On this occasion, GWP-Med had the opportunity to present the breath of its work on transboundary water management, the water-energy-food-ecosystems Nexus approach as well as the role of women in promoting transboundary water cooperation, during the MOP9 meeting and in several side events.

The application of the Water Energy Food Ecosystems Nexus approach to farming plots and the development of green business ideas of local youth from Ghar El Melh led to impressive results: water usage for irrigation was cut by 44%, crop productivity increased by 66%, while 4 new green startups launched their services successfully.